11 - MOTORSPORT ROUND-UP - AUTOMOTIVE

There's a buzz around Rallycross

This year IMG stepped in to promote the European Rallycross championship and it has already created some buzz. With former World Rally champion Petter Solberg joining the action with his own team running a Citroën DS3, the action on track promises excitement. Solberg won a heat already in the first round but it was American Tanner Foust in a 600 BHP+ Ford Fiesta who left UK and Lydden Hill with overall honours...

The championship will be run over 9 rounds all over Europe and Öhlins is used by a number of teams including the top runners from Citroën and Ford.

It seems Peugeot Sport is on a roll at the moment with some really exciting news recently announced. Earlier this year Peugeot launched the new 208 R2 for the new R2 rally class and the car was an instant hit with almost 100 cars already sold. A circuit version for the VLN races at Nürburgrings Nordschleife has also been made and it's already won its class in the opening round of the VLN.

But maybe the most exciting news is the 208 T16 Pikes Peak version they have launched for an assault with 7-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb for the Pikes Peak classic mountain climb. Peugeot themselves describes it as a complete endurance racing prototype and there are some cross-over development from their 908 Le Mans prototype.

With the introduction of a new generation V8 Supercar for 2013, Nissan has announced its return and joins the traditional Holden vs. Ford battle in what promises to bring yet further close and exciting racing.

With an extreme prototype chassis including Öhlins TTX and very advanced aerodynamics, the car will be pushed forward with the help of a 3.2-litre twin-turbo V6 engine producing 875bhp!

With the car weighing in at just 875kg the performance is staggering, matching its extreme looks. Expect to see YouTube filled with movies of this monster once it gets going at Pikes Peak. A first test run with Loeb behind the wheel has already been completed.

Audi drew first blood in the Audi vs Toyota battle in World Endurance, as the series kicked off at Silverstone in April. Audi-trio Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Loic Duval headed an Audi one-two with the new R18 e-tron Quattro ahead of the two Toyota TS030 – Hybrid machines. Toyota chose to run last year's cars against Audis' 2013-spec cars and struggled to match the pace. Expect this battle to get more intense as the championship continues and of course the big race is the classic Le Mans 24-Hour race in June…

The new BMW Z4 GTE has come up to speed and BMW Team RLL finished a one-two in the GT-class in the ALMS-race at Long Beach earlier this month. It was only the second race of the season and after having qualified fifth and seventh in the class they quickly climbed through the field. Bill Auberlen and Maxime Martin won just 6,7 seconds ahead of the sister car in the hands of Joey Hand and Dirk Müller.

As expected the Formula One season started in style and the title battle already promises to be exciting all the way to the final chequered flag . And there's a new player in the title hunt. The Lotus F1 team has carried their good form from last year into this season and after four races Kimi Räikkönen sits second in the standings with three podiums including victory in the season opener. With Romain Grosjeans form improving they are also second in the Manufacturers Championship.

With tyre management a key factor this year, Lotus looks strong; often being able to keep their tyres in shape during the race and make less pit stops than their competitors. The European leg of the season starts now with the Spanish Grand Prix coming up in the second weekend of May.

Australian touring car series V8 Supercars has already completed four events and a new star has been born. The new generation of V8 Supercars has already produced multiple winners in the first rounds and one of them is 19-year old rookie Scott McLaughlin driving for Garry Rogers Motorsport. With no respect for the veterans he's taken the fight to them and the reigning Dunlop Series Champion has already won a race outright. By winning round six at the ITM 400 Auckland he became the youngest race winner in the V8 Supercar category. With new found form at Garry Rogers Motorsport he is currently placed 10th in the standings.

Mercedes took a firm grip on the opposition when Italian Superstars started the season at Monza. It was a clean sweep in both races for Mercedes drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi, Thomas Biagi and Luigi Ferrara. With a win and a second place, former F1-driver Liuzzi heads the standings as the championship continues at Brno, Czech Republic.